Clinton stated during her confirmation hearings that she believed that "the best way to advance America's interests in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions." She stated, "We must use what has been called "smart power", the full range of tools at our disposal – diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal and cultural – picking the right tool or combination of tools for each situation. With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of our foreign policy."[9]

Initial themes

In his inaugural address, Obama, elaborating on his foreign policy, suggested that he hoped to begin the process of withdrawing from Iraq and continuing to focus on the conflict in Afghanistan. He also mentioned lessening the nuclear threat through "working tirelessly with old friends and former foes." He spoke about America's determination to combat terrorism by proclaiming that America's spirit is "stronger and cannot be broken – you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." To the Muslim world, Obama extended an invite to "a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect." He also said that the United States was willing to "extend a hand" to those "who cling to power through corruption and deceit" if they "are willing to unclench" their fists.[10]

On his first full day as president, Obama called on Israel to open the borders of Gaza, detailing early plans on his administration's peace plans for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[11] Obama and Secretary of State Clinton named George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East peace and Richard Holbrooke as special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan on January 23, 2009.[12] The Mitchell appointment signaled that Clinton might stay away from the direct Secretary-level negotiating that her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice, had spent much effort on during the previous two years.[13]

Within less than a week in her new position, Secretary of State Clinton already called almost 40 foreign leaders or foreign ministers.[14] She said the world was eager to see a new American foreign policy and that, "There is a great exhalation of breath going on around the world. We've got a lot of damage to repair."[14] She did indicate that not every past policy would be repudiated, and specifically said it was essential that the six-party talks over the North Korean nuclear weapons program continue.[15]

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at the State Department on her first day greeted by a standing room only crowd of Department employees.

His trip to Denmark, that failed to convince the International Olympic Committee to award the 2016 Summer Olympic games to Chicago, made Denmark the sixteenth country Obama visited since becoming President on January 20, 2009. This edged out President's Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush (both tied at 15 visits in their first year) to make Obama the most traveled first year President.[16]

Appointments

The administration appointed, or allowed to remain in office, 2,465 ambassadors. Most were career diplomats. 805 were political appointees. 110 of 150 ambassadorships were political in the Caribbean; 259 out of 358 appointees in Western Europe were political. Career diplomats dominated all other areas including: North and Central America, South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, East Asia, South Asia and Oceania. In Central Asia, all appointees were career.[17]

Then Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, in a January 13 hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the administration priorities would include "combating al-Qaida's efforts to seek safe havens in failed states in the Horn of Africa; helping African nations to conserve their natural resources and reap fair benefits from them; stopping war in Congo; [and] ending autocracy in Zimbabwe and human devastation in Darfur."[19]

Darfur, Eastern Congo, Ghana and Zimbabwe have all played a significant role in the United States Africa policy. Some foreign policy analysts believed that conflicts in "Sudan, Somalia, and eastern Congo" would "eclipse any other policy plans."[18]

He was followed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who took a seven nation trip to Africa in August including stops in Angola, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa. Some foreign policy analysts have made the claim that this is "the earliest in any U.S. administration that both the president and the secretary of state have visited Africa."

East Africa

Piracy

One of the first actions of the Obama administration was to sign a memorandum of understanding with Kenya to allow pirates captured off of Kenya's coast to be tried in Kenyan courts.[22][23]

The Obama administration's reaction and response to the kidnapping of Phillips had been commended as well as criticized, while others downplay his role in the rescue of Richard Phillips.[30][31][32] In 2014, Obama sought to increase operations in the Horn region in response to the Westgate mall attack in Kenya. A taskforce for the Horn peninsula had initiated drone strikes against pirates and al-Qaeda affiliates.[33]

After the death of Susan Tsvangirai, the prime minister's wife, in an automobile collision in central Zimbabwe on March 6, 2009, the U.S. State Department expressed condolences to Tsvangirai, who also received minor injuries in the wreck.[39]

Prime Minister Tsvangirai met with President Obama on June 12, 2009 at the White House.[40]

Tsvangirai meets with Obama in the White House in June 2009

After Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe's rival and leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe under a power-sharing agreement, the Obama administration extended its congratulations to Tsvangirai, but said that the U.S. would wait for evidence of Mugabe's cooperation with the MDC before it would consider lifting its sanctions.[38] In early March 2009, Obama proclaimed that US sanctions would be provisionally extended for another year, because Zimbabwe's political crisis as yet unresolved.[41]

Middle Africa

Democratic Republic of Congo

The Obama administration's foreign policy in Africa was conducted primarily through the bureaucratic apparatus of the State Department, with both Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry playing notable and well-publicized roles in African affairs.[42] In 2009, Secretary Clinton undertook a tour of seven African nations, including Angola, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and South Africa. During her visit to the DRC, Secretary Clinton met with rape survivors and later announced a $17 million plan for addressing sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).[43] Throughout her tenure, Secretary Clinton has issued numerous statements addressing gender-based violence and other human rights abuses in the DRC on in accordance with her goal of improving the status of women and girls around the world.

In 2013, then-Secretary of State John Kerry sought to draw greater attention to conflict and humanitarian crisis in DRC and surrounding countries, leading to the appointment of former Senator Russell Feingold to the position of Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region.[44] Founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative Ben Affleck testified to Congress in 2014 that Feingold's collaboration with his U.N. counterpart and other international actors had begun to remedy a previously incoherent international response to humanitarian crisis in the DRC.[45] At Feingold's urging, the Obama administration invoked the Child Soldiers Prevention Act in order to place sanctions on Rwanda for their support of the March 23 militia (M23).[46] These actions were crucial in brokering the end of a brutally violent and destabilizing two-year campaign of insurgency by M23.[47]

While the Obama administration received positive feedback for the invocation of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act against Rwanda, it was criticized for ignoring evidence that the Congolese government also made wide use of child soldiers.[48]

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law in 2010. Under Section 1502 of the Act, all corporations that use tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold are mandated to trace these potential “conflict minerals” to their source and to publicly disclose if they originated in the DRC, with the objective being to discourage corporate activities that contribute to conflict in the DRC.[49] Intended to promote human rights and divert resources from continued fighting, the law has widely been criticized by American companies who cite the cost and difficulty of tracking and certifying materials as barriers to implementation. Critics also argue that Section 1502 misunderstands and misrepresents the role that minerals play in conflict, resulting in legislation that has produced no notable change in levels of conflict. Instead, a “de facto” embargo has ensued which has propelled between 5 and 12 million Congolese miners into unemployment and deeper poverty.[50]

North Africa

Egypt

After escalating demonstrations challenged the long-standing strong-man rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Obama and many European leaders called for him to step down and he did so in 2011. The Egyptians elected a new government based on the Muslim Brotherhood. However the new President Mohamed Morsi was overthrown in 2013 by the military. President Obama noted that the crisis in Egypt is deplorable and tragic; the situations at the end of 2013 remained very tense.[51]

The Obama administration had pledged not to put "boots on the ground" in Mali, but in April 2013, the U.S. Department of Defense disclosed that it had deployed 22 U.S. military personnel to the country.[56][57] Of these, ten were liaison support staff to French and African forces, while the others were assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Bamako; the U.S. troops did not engage in combat operations in Mali.[56]

Arctic

During Obama's presidency, there was increased global attention paid to the Arctic, and the challenges and opportunities present in the region. The Obama administration responded accordingly by placing significantly greater focus on the Arctic and Arctic issues than the Bush administration, achieving a notable first in September 2015 by becoming the first sitting President ever to visit the Arctic Circle.

The Arctic is divided between 8 Arctic states that serve as permanent members of the Arctic Council. The primary policy of the Obama administration within the region had been to facilitate cooperation among these states on regional issues.[58] Upon assuming office, Obama had looked to reset relations with Russia across the board; however, as US–Russian relations deteriorated in other matters of mutual interest, the Arctic remained a site of cooperation between the two states.

In 2011, the Arctic states created the Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement, which established the search parameters for Arctic states. Search and Rescue collaboration between states has since strengthened further with the creation of the Coast Guard Forum in 2015.

During Obama's presidency, the United States assumed chairmanship of the Arctic Council 2015-2017 and looked to launch major collaborative projects while in that office.[59] With the United States at the helm, the Arctic Council had focused on improving economic and living conditions for Arctic communities; improving Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; and also addressing the impacts of climate change. The last Arctic Council meeting of Obama's Presidency was in Maine in 4–6 October 2016 where the agenda focused on Arctic sustainable development and the climate.

Countering the regional effects of climate change had been a major focus of the Obama presidency's Arctic policy, particularly during his final two years in office. Obama agreed in March 2016 to protect at least 17% of its Arctic territory from development during a joint event with President Trudeau of Canada.

Within the Arctic Council, an expert group was created in 2015 investigating the threat posed by black carbon to the region which concluded its findings and recommendations in 2016. The administration had also looked to increase data sharing—a major agenda item at the inaugural White House Arctic Science Ministerial in September 2016.[60]

While regional co-operation to counter joint challenges had been the primary commitment of the Obama administration, US Arctic military capabilities have also increased under Obama. In 2016, the ICEX exercise was carried out and was widely regarded to be a major success. President Obama had also commissioned two new US icebreakers in 2015.

Asia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in 2011 a rebalancing of foreign policy to give more emphasis to Asia, especially in response to the rapidly growing Chinese role in the region. She called for "a substantially increased investment – diplomatic, economic, strategic, and otherwise – in the Asia-Pacific region."[61] As of 2014, many analysts did not find significant changes and some argued that the U.S. is again neglecting the region.[62] Obama's support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership was motivated in large part by his goal to "pivot" the US to East Asia.[63]

East Asia

President Barack Obama addresses the opening session of the first U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

President Obama at the Vimean Santepheap (Peace Palace) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left on her first foreign policy tour (to Asia) on February 15, 2009 with stops in Japan, China, South Korea, Philippines, and Indonesia.[64] The Secretary had travelled to the region extensively, including at least three trips to various countries in the region in 2009, 2010 and 2011[65] In July 2012, Secretary Clinton traveled Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.[66] The visit to Laos was the first by a Secretary of State in 57 years.[67]

On April 1, 2009, Obama and Hu Jintao announced the establishment of the high-level U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue co-chaired by Hillary Clinton and Timothy Geithner on the U.S. side and Dai Bingguo and Wang Qishan on the Chinese side and on May 16, 2009 Obama personally announced the nomination of Jon Huntsman, Jr., the RepublicanGovernor of Utah to fill the position of Ambassador to China. Huntsman was the only ambassador in the Administration to be personally announced by the President[68] times. Later that year, President Obama and Secretary Clinton made a high-profile trip to China on November 15–18, 2009 marking Obama's first visit to China. It was Obama's first presidential Asia trip since he was inducted. He also went to Japan, Singapore for the APEC summit and South Korea for the first U.S.-ASEAN summit. The United States Pacific Command had also been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen military relationships in the region.[69] The United States and China often clashed over China's claims in the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.[70]

In 2014, President Obama stated that the United States recognized Tibet as part of China but also encouraged the Chinese authorities to take steps to preserve the unique cultural, religious and linguistic identity of the Tibetan people.[71]

In 2016, Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Laos, which the United States had bombed during the Vietnam War.[72] Obama also increased funding to clean up unexploded ordnance in Laos.[72]

United States President Barack Obama and Lee walking after a meeting at the Blue House in Seoul in November 2010.

On February 18, 2009, Obama announced that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would be bolstered by 17,000 new troops by the summer.[88] Obama also ordered the expansion of airstrikes to include the organization of Baitullah Mehsud, the militant chief reportedly behind the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto,[89] as priority targets.[90]

There was also tension between India and Pakistan who had both come into possession of nuclear weapons. This conflict had been ongoing since August 1947 after the Partition of India. Criticism had been leveled at the Obama administration for its apparent lack of an early response to U.S. foreign policy with India. The former director for South Asia in the National Security Council in the Bush administration, Xenia Dormandy claims that India is America's indispensable ally in the region and that the Obama administration should take steps to improve relations with India.[96][97][98][99][100]

West Asia

War in Iraq

During his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama advocated a phased redeployment of troops out of Iraq within 16 months of being sworn in as president.[101] In order to accomplish this Obama stated that he would, based on the conditions on the ground, redeploy between one and two battalions a month.[102] Some of the forces returned to the U.S., while others were redeployed as part of a focus on the broader region including Afghanistan and Pakistan to confront terrorism.[103]

Obama was in office for 3 years of the Iraq war. The U.S. gradually completed its withdrawal of military personnel in December 2011. In late February 2009, newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama announced an 18-month withdrawal window for combat forces, with approximately 50,000 soldiers remaining in the country. In November 2013 Obama met with Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki. He vowed a continuing partnership but said there would be no public aid, and urged to prime minister to be more inclusive, especially with regards to the Sunni population. Obama also encouraged wider political participation and passing an election law. They discussed how to curb a resurgent al-Qaeda and how to more thoroughly incorporate democracy in the country.[104] President Obama changed the timeline of withdrawing troops from Iraq within 16 months of his taking office as outlined in the election to 19 months after taking office.

Obama appointed several Special Envoys including a Special Envoy for Middle East peace (George Mitchell) and a Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan (Richard C. Holbrooke). In 2013, Obama urged the leaders of the middle east to do more to stem or address the multiple locations where Sunni-Shia strife is occurring in the middle east, including in Bahrain, Syria and Iraq.[105]

In the wake of the shattering of the Iraqi military following 2014 Northern Iraq offensive Obama deployed thousands of American Marines, Special Forces troops and military advisers to shore up the remaining Iraqi forces.[106][107][108][109] These troops were also tasked with securing the area around the American Embassy in Baghdad as well as taking control of the International Airport. Obama said that the actions of these men would be "targeted and precise".[106]

The administration also moved a carrier battle group in to the Persian Gulf. Americans have been flying extensive reconnaissance flights, both manned and unmanned.[107] American F-18 attack aircraft have also been spotted in the skies over Iraq since mid-summer.[106]

In early August the Administration announced a wide-ranging air campaign in northern Iraq aimed at Sunni militants, while undertaking a significant humanitarian efforts aimed at Iraq's imperiled minorities.[110]

Iran

After the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential election, Obama condemned the Iranian government's crackdown on the Iranian Green Movement opposition, a group of pro-democracy demonstrators.[111] Obama stated: "we respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran, but "I am deeply troubled by the violence that I've been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process -- free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent -- all those are universal values and need to be respected."[112] After more violent was directed at protesters, Obama stated: "The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings and imprisonments of the last few days" and issued a strong condemnation of "these unjust actions."[112] Some critics, including his 2012 presidential campaign rival Mitt Romney, faulted Obama, saying that he should have done more to support the Green Movement.[112][113][114][115][116] Others disagreed, noting that the Green Movement did not need or want direct foreign support, and arguing that direct U.S. backing for the Iranian opposition would likely "undermine its credibility, and perhaps even lend credence to the government’s assertion that the movement is a foreign-inspired plot that will rob Iran of its independence."[111]

After the election of centrist moderate Hassan Rouhani as President in 2013, Iran started a new stage of dialogue in its foreign relations in a bid to improve relations with the west. At Rouhani's official visit to New York City to attend the United Nations General Assembly, Obama requested a bilateral meeting with Rouhani, which didn't take place due to time restraints according to Rouhani. Rouhani stated that more time was needed to organise a proper meeting between the two countries' leaders due to the troubled past relationship of the two nations. On 27 September 2013, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Secretary of State John Kerry held a one-on-one meeting, the first between the U.S. and Iran in a generation. The rare get-together was groundbreaking, according to Iranian analysts. One day later, Obama and Rouhani spoke with each other on the phone, the highest level of communication between the two nations leaders since the Iranian Revolution of 1979.[119]

Israel

Relations between the U.S. and Israel have deteriorated considerably under the Barack Obama administration. While the overall alliance remains intact, antagonism between Barack Obama and current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had eroded bilateral ties between the two nations. Israel announced it was pushing ahead with building 1,600 new homes in a Jewish area in East Jerusalem in March 2010, as Vice-President Joe Biden was visiting. It was described as "one of the most serious rows between the two allies in recent decades".[120] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Israel's move was "deeply negative" for US-Israeli relations.[121] However Obama was the first United States president to supply Israel with modern bunker buster bombs.[122] And under Obama, United States Foreign Military Financing for Israel had increased to $3 billion for the first time in history.[123] Obama had pledged support for Israeli military superiority in the region and had described his allegiance with Israel as being "sacrosanct".[124] Under President Obama, the United States increased aid for Israel's Iron Dome.[125]

On September 20, 2011, President Obama declared that the U.S. would veto a Palestinian application for statehood at the United Nations, asserting that "there can be no shortcut to peace".[126] Furthermore, in February, the administration had vetoed a U.N. resolution declaring Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal.[127]

In 2014 Obama said that only a two-state solution could ensure Israel's future as a Jewish-majority democracy.[128] Ehud Barak described Obama's support for Israel as being unparalleled and the most supportive in history, stating that Obama had done "more than anything that I can remember in the past" and that Obama's support is "extremely deep and profound".[129][130]

Syria

President Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Syria and ISIL, September 29, 2015

In 2012, Obama, who had previously demanded the resignation of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, said that the use of chemical weapons by the Assad government would be crossing a red line and would entail U.S. military action.[138] After reports on 21 August 2013 about the usage of chemical weapons in Syria, the Obama administration formally blamed the incident on the Syrian government and sought Congressional approval for military action in Syria. Besides, Obama sought support from Britain and France for an attack in Syria.[139] The Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel approved plans for a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missile strikes to have those called off by Obama in September.[140] On 11 September 2013, Obama put a military strike or combat operations on hold and achieved an agreement with Russia and the Syrian government to destroy all chemical weapons in Syria.[141]

Obama's decision to allow the violation of a red line he himself had drawn to go unpunished is widely criticised by the U.S. political establishment, as well as the allies,[142] as detrimental to America's international credibility.[138] However, in early 2016, Obama said he was "proud" of his decision, which repudiated what he referred to as the "Washington playbook" and avoided entangling the US in yet another "unfixable" situation in the Middle East.[138][143] More broadly, regarding Obama's lack of meaningful support to the Syrian anti-government rebels, in 2015, The Economist opined, "Rarely has an American president so abjectly abandoned his global responsibility",[144] adding in 2016, "The agony of Syria is the biggest moral stain on Barack Obama's presidency. And the chaos rippling from Syria—where many now turn to al-Qaeda, not the West, for salvation—is his greatest geopolitical failure."[145] In 2016, Nicholas Kristof described inaction in Syria as "Obama's worst mistake",[146] while Jonathan Schanzer said "the White House Syria policy has been an unmitigated dumpster fire."[147]Michael Mullen, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, described the conflict in Syria as "Obama's Rwanda".[148]

In comments published on 1 December 2016, about the U.S. becoming increasingly sidelined by Moscow and Ankara, Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, blamed the marginalisation of the U.S. in the Syrian Civil War and the region at large on Barack Obama, "The American approach to this conflict guaranteed the US less and less relevance, not just in the Syrian conflict but also the broader regional dynamics. There has been a loss of face and a loss of leverage. The politics of the region are being transformed and this happened under Obama, whether by design or by failure."[149]

In 2017, as Russia on the back of its successful military campaign in Syria forged closer ties with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, analysts and politicians in the Middle East concurred that Russia's clout in the region had grown “because Obama allowed it to’’ by failing to intervene robustly in Syria.[150]

The Obama "Red Line" remark was intended as an ultimatum to the Syrian president and the Syrian army to cease the use of chemical weapons. It appeared in a Presidential statement on 20 August 2012. Obama's red line was enforced by means of threat of massive military force in September 2013 and resulted in the substantial destruction of the Syrian stockpile of chemical weapons by June 2014.

Obama stated, "We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation."[151]

One year later, in the early hours of 21 August 2013, two opposition-controlled areas in the suburbs around Damascus, Syria were struck by rockets containing the chemical agent sarin. The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons since the Iran–Iraq War.[152]

A U.S.-led military attack to punish Syria for using chemical weapons was anticipated by the end of August 2013 in which American forces and their allies launched more than 100 missiles into Syria.[153]

The U.S. Navy brought four destroyers into position in the eastern Mediterranean to reach targets inside Syria. The USS Nimitz carrier group was rerouted to Syria in early September 2013.[154]

Russia and Great Britain among other nations began evacuating their citizens in anticipation of the bombardment.[155]

During the G20 summit on 6 September, Vladimir Putin and Obama discussed the idea of putting Syria's chemical weapons under international control. On 9 September 2013, Kerry stated in response to a question from a journalist that the air strikes could be averted if Syria turned over "every single bit" of its chemical weapons stockpiles within a week, but Syria "isn't about to do it and it can't be done." State Department officials stressed that Kerry's statement and its one-week deadline were rhetorical in light of the unlikelihood of Syria turning over its chemical weapons. Hours after Kerry's statement, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Russia had suggested to Syria that it relinquish its chemical weapons, and Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem immediately welcomed the proposal.[156]

U.S.–Russian negotiations led to the 14 September 2013 "Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons," which called for the elimination of Syria's chemical weapon stockpiles by mid-2014. Following the agreement, Syria acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention and agreed to apply that convention provisionally until its entry into force on 14 October 2013. On 21 September, Syria ostensibly provided a of itn inventory of its chemical weapons to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), before the deadline set by the framework.

The destruction of Syria's chemical weapons began on the basis of international agreements with Syria that stipulated an initial destruction deadline of 30 June 2014. UN Security Council Resolution 2118 of 27 September 2013 required Syria to assume responsibility for and follow a timeline for the destruction of its chemical weapons and its chemical weapon production facilities. The Security Council resolution bound Syria to the implementation plan presented in a decision of the OPCW. On 23 June 2014, the last declared chemical weapons left Syria. The destruction of the most dangerous chemical weapons was performed at sea aboard the Cape Ray, a vessel of the United States Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force, crewed with US civilian merchant mariners. The actual destruction operations, performed by a team of U.S. Army civilians and contractors, destroyed 600 metric tons of chemical agents in 42 days.

Bahrain protests

Some in the media questioned Obama's decision to welcome Bahrain in Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa in June 2011 because of the fierce crackdown on protesters in the country. The collaboration of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states with Bahrains royalty, had carried out mass repression since the middle of March. This included detaining, beating and torture of thousands.[157] In June 2013, Obama urged meaningful reform in Bahrain.[158] Bahraini officials rejected Obama's claims about sectarianism between Sunnis and Shias.[105] Nevertheless, the Obama administration resumed providing arms and maintenance to the regime during its crackdown on pro-democracy groups, including ammunition, combat vehicle parts, communications equipment, Blackhawk helicopters, and an unidentified missile system.[159][160] Accordingly, the administration's larger policy on dealing with the "Arab Spring" is to continue propping up longtime client regimes while fostering "regime alteration."[161]

Saudi Arabia

The United States and Saudi Arabia continued their post-war alliance during the Obama presidency, and the Obama Administration supported the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen during the Yemeni Civil War.[162] However, tensions between the Saudis and the United States arose following the Iranian nuclear deal, as Saudi Arabia and Iran have strained relations and have competed for influence in the Middle East.[162] The Obama administration attempted to defuse tensions between the two countries, as it hoped for cooperation with both countries in regards to the Syrian Civil War and military operations against ISIS.[163] Obama also criticized the human rights record of Saudi Arabia, particularly in regards to the imprisonment of Raif Badawi.[164] When once asked whether Saudi Arabia was America's friend, Obama replied with "It's complicated."[165][166] According to The Economist, opining in April 2016, thanks in large part to Obama, America's relationship with Saudi Arabia had become "deeply strained" under his tenure.[167]

Europe

Fabbrini in 2011 identified a cycle in anti-Americanism in Europe: modest in the 1990s, it grew explosively between 2003–2008, then declined after 2008. He sees the current version as related to images of American foreign policy-making as unrestrained by international institutions or world opinion. Thus it is the unilateral policy process and the arrogance of policy makers, not the specific policy decisions, that are decisive.[170]

East Europe

Russia

Tensions remained as Russia pushed back against attempts at further eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union into areas that had previously been part of the Russian Empire and the USSR. Georgia and Ukraine were the major flash points. Early on, Obama called for a "reset" of relations with Russia, and in 2009 the policy became known as the Russian reset; but critics debated whether or not it could improve bilateral relations or was about to concede too much to Russia.[171]

At the end of March 2014, president Obama dismissed Russia as a "regional power" that did not pose a major security threat to the U.S.[172] The statement was later sharply criticised by Putin as "disrespectful" and an attempt to prove America's exceptionalism[173][174] as well as by the president of the European CommissionJean-Claude Juncker who in November 2016 said, "We have a lot to learn about the depths of Russia, we are very ignorant about it at the moment. ... Russia is not, as President Obama said, 'a regional power'. This was a big error in assessment."[175]

After Russia's military intervention in Syria in 2015 and the alleged interference[176] in the 2016 election campaign in the U.S., relations between the Russian government and Obama administration became more strained. In September 2016, the U.S. government publicly accused Russia of "flagrant violations of international law" in Syria.[177]Thomas Friedman opined, "Obama believed that a combination of pressure and engagement would moderate Putin's behavior. That is the right approach, in theory, but it's now clear that we have underestimated the pressure needed to produce effective engagement, and we're going to have to step it up. This is not just about the politics of Syria and Ukraine anymore. It's now also about America, Europe, basic civilized norms and the integrity of our democratic institutions."[178]George Robertson, a former UK defense secretary and NATO secretary-general, said that Obama had "allowed Putin to jump back on the world stage and test the resolve of the West", adding that the legacy of this disaster would last.[142]

In mid-November 2016, the Kremlin accused president Obama's administration of trying to damage the U.S.' relationship with Russia to a degree that would render normalisation thereof impossible for the incoming administration of Donald Trump.[179]

Ukraine

In the wake of the Euromaidan protests the Obama administration had embraced the new government of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. After Russia began to occupy the Crimean peninsula Obama warned Russia of "severe consequences" if Russia annexes the region and attempted to negotiate a withdraw of Russian troops. To date, all negotiations have been unsuccessful.[181] On December 18, 2014 Obama signed into law Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014.[182]

Aside from Canadian lobbying against "Buy American" provisions in the US stimulus package, relations between the two administrations had been smooth up to 2011. On February 4, 2011, Harper and Obama issued a "Declaration on a Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness".[184][185]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was elected in October 2015, visited the White House for an official visit and state dinner on March 10, 2016.[186] Trudeau and Obama were reported to have shared warm personal relations during the visit, making humorous remarks about which country was better at hockey and which country had better beer.[187] Obama complimented Trudeau's 2015 election campaign for its "message of hope and change" and "positive and optimistic vision". Obama and Trudeau also held "productive" discussions on climate change and relations between the two countries, and Trudeau invited Obama to speak in the Canadian parliament in Ottawa later in the year.[188]

Cuba

Meeting between President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro in Panama, April 2015

While the United States House of Representatives passed legislation, backed by Obama, to ease certain travel and cash transactions imposed against Cuba by the U.S., on February 25, 2009, sanctions which were further eased by Obama unilaterally in April 2009,[194] the president was initially coy about lifting the embargo against Cuba.[195] Obama professed to view the embargo as a useful tool for leverage on pushing for reform in Cuba.[196] This is in contrast to what Obama stated in 2004 when he said that it was time "to end the embargo with Cuba" because it had "utterly failed in the effort to overthrow Castro."[197] Obama's stance had met criticism from both Fidel Castro[198] and members of the U.S. government, including ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations CommitteeRichard Lugar.[199] A panel with the Washington-based Brookings Institution released a report in late February 2009 urging Obama to normalize relations with Cuba.[200]

In December 2014, after the secret meetings, it was announced that Obama, with Pope Francis as an intermediary, had negotiated a restoration of relations with Cuba, more than a half-century after diplomatic ties were broken in 1961.[203] Popularly dubbed the Cuban Thaw, The New Republic deemed the Cuban Thaw to be "Obama's finest foreign policy achievement."[204] On July 1, 2015, Obama announced that formal diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States would resume, and embassies would be opened in Washington and Havana.[205] The countries' respective "interests sections" in one another's capitals were upgraded to embassies on July 20 and August 13, 2015, respectively.[206]

Obama visited Havana, Cuba for two days in March 2016, becoming the first sitting U.S. President to arrive since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.[207]

Honduras

On June 28, 2009, President Manuel Zelaya was arrested and exiled from the country. Obama condemned the action and described the event as a coup. On July 7, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Zelaya and agreed upon a U.S.-backed proposal for negotiations with the Micheletti government, mediated by President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica.[208] At the conclusion of the meeting, Clinton announced the suspension of economic and military aid to the Honduran government.[209] However, the U.S. led a group of Western Hempishere countries supporting the outcome of November 2009 presidential election of Porfirio Lobo as a way forward to resolve the situation.[210]

Oceania

New Zealand

The Obama administration continued to develop closer relations with New Zealand, particularly in the area of defense and intelligence cooperation. Relations with the National government led by Prime MinisterJohn Key have been smooth and friendly. This process had already begun under the previous George W. Bush administration in 2007, which culminated in a state visit by the-then Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark to the United States in July 2008. While the United States and New Zealand had been close allies since World War II and were members of the tripartite ANZUS security alliance with Australia, US-NZ bilateral relations had deteriorated under the Ronald Reagan Administration in February 1985 due to New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy which banned visits by nuclear-capable or nuclear-powered warships.[211] As a result, no bilateral military exercises had taken place until April 2012 and New Zealand warships were barred from visiting US ports and participating in joint naval exercises until May 2013.[212][213]

On 4 November 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her New Zealand counterpart Minister of Foreign AffairsMurray McCully signed the Wellington Declaration which committed the two countries to a closer bilateral relationship with an increased emphasis on strategic partnership. This strategic partnership had two fundamental elements: "a new focus on practical cooperation in the Pacific region; and enhanced political and subject-matter dialogue—including regular Foreign Ministers' meetings and political-military discussions."[214] The agreement also stressed the continued need for New Zealand and the United States to work together on global issues like nuclear proliferation, climate change and terrorism.[214]

On 19 June 2012, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and his New Zealand counterpart Minister of DefenceJonathan Coleman signed the Washington Declaration which committed the US and New Zealand to a closer defense cooperation arrangement.[217] It sought to restore defense cooperation between the two countries which had been curtailed by the ANZUS Split. Two key areas of this Declaration included the resumption of regular senior-level dialogues between the US Department of Defense and the New Zealand Ministry of Defence and the New Zealand Defence Force; and security cooperation.[218] As a result of the Washington Declaration, New Zealand warships were allowed to visit US ports even though New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy remained intact.[213] The Washington Declaration was also part of the Obama administration's pivot into the Asia-Pacific to counter the emerging influence of China.[219]

Obama declared a "fresh era" of relations to help Argentina's credibility in the Latin American region and the world, and announced trade and economic initiatives to reset the countries' relations after years of tension.[222]

Colombia

Obama continued Plan Colombia, a diplomatic aid initiative launched by President Bill Clinton to aid Colombia's economy. Partially as a result of Plan Colombia, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos negotiated an agreement with the guerrilla organization FARC.[223] Though Colombia remained a major producer of drugs, it saw remarkable progress in the reduction of kidnappings, homicides, and unemployment.[223] In addition to continuing Plan Colombia, Obama appointed Bernard Aronson as a special envoy to the peace process between the Colombian government and FARC in order to facilitate negotiations.[223] However, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and others criticized Obama for engaging with FARC, an organization that appears on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations.[223] Obama promised a continuation of its policy of financial aid to Colombia in the aftermath of the proposed peace deal.[224]

Venezuela

The Obama administration approved $5 million annual budget for backing opposition activities against the Venezuelan government.[225]

While Obama set a conciliatory tone for his relations with Venezuela during his candidacy, saying he would be willing to meet with Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chávez without preconditions at a July 23, 2007, presidential debate,[226] the Venezuelan leader had been fickle in his opinion of Obama. Even during the election he varied from liking Obama to saying that nothing would change with the US.

In January 2009 Chávez derided Obama as taking the same stance toward Venezuela as Bush, but the next month, as the price of oil fell, Chavez communicated openness to discussions with the Obama administration.[227] On February 15, 2009, Chávez said, "Any day is propitious for talking with President Barack Obama,"[228] but said later that month that he "couldn't care less" about meeting the new U.S. president[229] ahead of an impending confrontation between the two leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, in mid-April.[230]

However, as recently as the first week of March, Chávez called upon Obama to follow the path to socialism, which he termed as the "only" way out of the global recession. "Come with us, align yourself, come with us on the road to socialism. This is the only path. Imagine a socialist revolution in the United States", Chávez told a group of workers in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolívar. He said that people were calling Obama a "socialist" for the measures of state intervention he is taking to counter the crisis, so it would not be too far-fetched to suggest that he might join the project of "21st century socialism" that the Venezuelan leader is heading.

Later in March he referred to Obama as a "poor ignoramus" for not knowing the situation in Latin America and even implied that Brazil's President Lula was not completely happy with his meeting with Obama. However the Brazilian Foreign Ministry denied that this was the case.[231]

In Tokyo in early April, where he attended meetings to discuss trade deals with the Japanese, Chávez said he was not biased against the Obama administration and he fully supported the idea of a 21st-century free from conflict.

In Trinidad on April 17, 2009, Obama and Chávez met for the first time, with the former asking in Spanish, "Come estás?" Later, Chávez walked over to Obama during the summit, and handed him a copy of The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, an essay about U.S. and European economic and political interference in the region. During the summit, Obama is reported to have said, to much applause, "We have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms, but I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations".

Other issues

NSA spying scandal

In early 2013 Edward Snowden leaked to the media a trove of documents on the Obama administration's controversial mass surveillance campaign. These revelations have strained relationships between Obama and the foreign leaders that his administration is spying on.[232][233][234][235] Fears of American spy software have also cost several American companies contracts for export work.[236][237][238]

Muslim relations

On January 26, 2009, Obama gave his first formal interview as president to the Arabic-language television news channel Al Arabiya.[239][240] Obama said that, "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."[239] Obama mentioned that he had spent several years growing up in the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, and called for resumed negotiations between Israel and Palestinians.[239] Obama's gesture in reaching out to the Muslim world was unprecedented for a U.S. president.[240]

President Obama addressed the Muslim world in a speech in Cairo, Egypt on June 4, 2009.[20] In that speech President Obama issued a call for "a new beginning" in the relationship between the United States and Muslims around the world. He outlined his ideas about "engaging the Muslim world" and how to create "a new beginning."

Farah Pandith was appointed as the State Department's "first ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities" and was sworn in on September 15, 2009.[242]

She describes her responsibilities as including actively listening and responding to "the concerns of Muslims in Europe, Africa, and Asia."[242]

Missile defense

In 2012 Obama promised more flexibility on missile defense after his reelection,[243] this flexibility was demonstrated the next year when Kerry offered to reduce American defenses against Chinese missiles.[244]

^United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services. Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade. (2013). The costs and consequences of Dodd-Frank section 1502 : Impacts on America and the Congo : Hearing before the subcommittee on international monetary policy and trade of the committee on financial services, U.S. house of representatives, one hundred twelfth congress, second session, may 10, 2012. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. (2013). Retrieved November 14, 2018, from ProQuest Congressional.

^Hillary Clinton, "America's Pacific Century: The future of politics will be decided in Asia, not Afghanistan or Iraq, and the United States will be right at the center of the action," Foreign Policy (Nov 2011) online

^Euan Graham, "Southeast Asia in the US Rebalance: Perceptions from a Divided Region," Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs (Dec 2013) 35#3 pp 305-332, online.

Following US President Barack Obama's address on the subject, a series of international conferences took place in order to build a formal coalition to destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which had taken over large portions of Syria and Iraq and had briefly invaded a small part of Lebanon.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; Persian: برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک‎, romanized: barnāmeye jāme'e eqdāme moshtarak, acronym: برجام BARJAM), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on 14 July 2015 between Iran, the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany), and the European Union.

In February 2019 the International Atomic Energy Agency certified that Iran was still abiding by the deal.

The Atrocities Prevention Board (APB) is an interagency committee consisting of U.S. officials from the National Security Council, the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Treasury, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Intelligence Community. The board meets monthly to assess the long-term risks of atrocities around the world.

The Cuban thaw (Spanish: deshielo cubano) was a warming of Cuba–United States relations that began in December 2014 ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the nations. In March 2016, Barack Obama became the first U.S. President to visit Cuba since 1928.On December 17, 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced the beginning of a process of normalizing relations between Cuba and the United States. The normalization agreement was secretly negotiated in preceding months, facilitated by Pope Francis and largely hosted by the Government of Canada. Meetings were held in both Canada and Vatican City. The agreement would see the lifting of some U.S. travel restrictions, fewer restrictions on remittances, U.S. banks' access to the Cuban financial system, and the reopening of the U.S. embassy in Havana and the Cuban embassy in Washington, which both closed in 1961 after the breakup of diplomatic relations as a result of Cuba's close alliance with the USSR.On April 14, 2015, the Obama administration announced that Cuba would be removed from the United States State Sponsors of Terrorism list. With no congressional action to block this within the permitted time period, Cuba was officially removed from the list on May 29, 2015. This marked a further departure by the United States from the Cold War conflict and its strain on Cuba–United States relations. On July 20, 2015, the Cuban and U.S. "interests sections" in Washington and Havana were upgraded to embassies.On June 16, 2017, President Donald Trump announced that he was "cancelling" the Obama administration's deals with Cuba, while also expressing that a new deal could be negotiated between the Cuban and United States governments.On November 8, 2017, it was announced business and travel restrictions which were loosened by the Obama administration would resume and would go into effect on November 9.

President Barack Obama's East Asia Strategy represented a significant shift in the foreign policy of the United States. It took the country's focus from the Middle Eastern/European sphere and began to invest heavily in East Asian countries, some of which are in close proximity to the People's Republic of China. Previously, the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, naval and air weapons systems were deployed to Guam and Japan, and cooperation began with Singapore by constructing an aircraft carrier facility at Changi Naval Base. "The Bush administration assigned an additional aircraft carrier to the Pacific theater and the Pentagon announced in 2005 that it would deploy 60 percent of U.S. submarines to Asia." Spending for United States Pacific Command (PACOM) remained high during the anti-insurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Additional focus was placed on the region with the Obama administration's 2012 "Pivot to East Asia" regional strategy, whose key areas of actions are: "strengthening bilateral security alliances; deepening our working relationships with emerging powers, including with China; engaging with regional multilateral institutions; expanding trade and investment; forging a broad-based military presence; and advancing democracy and human rights." A report by the Brookings Institution states that reactions to the pivot strategy were mixed, as "different Asian states responded to American rebalancing in different ways."There has been strong perception from China that all of these are part of US' China containment policy. Proponents of this theory claim that the United States needs a weak, divided China to continue its hegemony in Asia. This is accomplished, the theory claims, by the United States establishing military, economic, and diplomatic ties with countries adjacent to China's borders.

The European Deterrence Initiative (EDI), prior to 2017 known as the European Reassurance Initiative, is a program that was initiated in June 2014, about three months after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, by the White House to increase the U.S. presence in Europe for security purposes.

The initiative increased in appropriation from a $1 billion operation to $3.4 billion by 2017. In May 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed adding another $1.4 billion (+40%) to the appropriation.Operation Atlantic Resolve is covered by the initiative.

For purposes of U.S. foreign policy, Europe consists of the European Union and non-EU states in Europe.

President Barack Obama plans to increase American troops in Europe to their highest levels since 2003, and station more special operations aircraft and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System ships there to provide quick access to Africa and the Middle East.

The "Hillary Doctrine" is the doctrine of former United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, particularly in reference to her stance that women's rights and violence against women should be considered issues of national security. The doctrine encompasses stances she has held before, during, and after her tenure as secretary.

The Obama Doctrine is a catch-all term frequently used to describe one or several principles of the foreign policy of U.S. President Barack Obama. It is still not agreed whether there was an actual Obama Doctrine. Nevertheless, during an interview with the New York Times, Obama briefly commented about the doctrine saying: "You asked about an Obama doctrine, the doctrine is we will engage, but we preserve all our capabilities".Unlike precisely-defined policies such as the Monroe Doctrine, Truman Doctrine, Nixon Doctrine, Carter Doctrine, Reagan Doctrine or Bush Doctrine, the Obama Doctrine is not a specific foreign policy introduced by the executive. This has led journalists and political commentators to analyze what the exact tenets of an Obama Doctrine might look like. Generally speaking, it is widely accepted that a central part of such a doctrine would emphasize negotiation and collaboration rather than confrontation and unilateralism in international affairs. This policy has been praised by some as a welcome change from the interventionist Bush Doctrine. Critics of Obama's unilateral policies (such as targeted killings of suspected enemies of the US) including former republican United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, have described it as overly idealistic and naïve, promoting appeasement of adversaries. Others have drawn attention to its radical departure in tone from not only the policies of the Bush administration but many former presidents as well. Some trace the origin of Obama's doctrine to a speech he delivered at West Point in May 2014, where he asserted that the "United States will use military force, unilaterally if necessary, when our core interests demand it," but for indirect threats or humanitarian crises, "we must mobilize partners to take collective action." This doctrine of "moral multilateralism," some argue, reflects Obama's interest in philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr, who supported an interventionist U.S. foreign policy but warned against hubris and moral misjudgment.

Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military's operational name for the military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIL, in the vernacular, Daesh), including both the campaign in Iraq and the campaign in Syria. Since 21 August 2016, the U.S. Army's XVIII Airborne Corps has been responsible for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF—OIR).

From August 2016 to December 2016, the U.S. conducted another similar operation in Libya, code-named Operation Odyssey Lightning, during the battle to capture Sirte, which was the local capital of ISIL's Libyan branch.

For purposes of U.S. foreign policy, South Asia consists of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs as of 12 June 2017 is William E. Todd.

The Final Year is a 2017 American documentary film directed by Greg Barker. The film is a chronicle of the Barack Obama administration's foreign policy team and the events of Obama's final year in office. While President Obama features at certain points, the documentary crew mainly followed the activities of Secretary of State John Kerry, UN Ambassador Samantha Power, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. Although the documentary does not feature Donald Trump, the emphasis among the main players switches as the final year progresses from enacting a foreign policy legacy to taking measures to protect that legacy from being dismantled by the incoming administration.

Timber Sycamore was a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supported by Arab intelligence services, such as the security service in Saudi Arabia. Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplied money, weaponry and training to rebel forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War. According to US officials, the program has trained thousands of rebels. President Barack Obama secretly authorized the CIA to begin arming Syria’s embattled rebels in 2013.The program's existence was suspected after the US Federal Business Opportunities website publicly solicited contract bids to ship tons of weaponry from Eastern Europe to Taşucu, Turkey and Aqaba, Jordan. One unintended consequence of the program has been to flood the Middle East's black market with weapons including assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

In July 2017, US officials stated that Timber Sycamore would be phased out, with funds possibly redirected to fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or to offering rebel forces defensive capabilities.

Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 (S. 2828, H.R. 5859) is a United States law introduced to the 113th Congress on September 16, 2014 to address pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 was sponsored by Senator Bob Menendez and co-sponsored by fourteen other Senators. The bill was signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama on December 18, 2014.Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 is preceded by similar congressional bills, particularly Ukraine Support Act and Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014.

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